


White Rabbit

by NorthernSerpent



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Slow Burn, Swearing, resolving sexual tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 14:44:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15342102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernSerpent/pseuds/NorthernSerpent
Summary: When FP is bored, he gets lonely. When he's lonely, he gets thirsty.ORThe one where FP needs a distraction in the form of Alice Cooper.Set after Betty is living at the trailer, but before the musical episode. Canon divergent after that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I have this headcanon that FP doesn't have a smartphone, and even if he ever got one, he would be terrible at keeping track of it. This was supposed to be about that. It is no longer about that.
> 
> There will be swearing, substance abuse issues, and perhaps later there will be sex.

> "Your magic, white rabbit
> 
> Has left its writing on the wall
> 
> We follow, like Alice
> 
> And just keep falling down the hole."
> 
> \- " _White Rabbit_ ", Egypt Central

** Part 1 **

The thing about Pop's being open 24/7 was that it was mighty convenient for drunk delinquents to grab some greasy carbs at 3 am. It was less convenient for those who had to work the actual night shift.

FP couldn't blame them though. He knew there was nothing quite like a basket of fries after a night of partying with the boys.

By the time he got home, the sun was starting to peak over the horizon. He had undone his bowtie the second his shift was over, letting it fall around his neck. His stupid hat was left behind in his truck. He knew he'd lose it otherwise.

Betty was already up when he walked through the door. She sat at the small table, tea in hand and with an empty bowl of cereal in front of her. Jughead was still sprawled out on the pullout couch, his head buried under a pile of pillows. As if that would somehow make the night stay longer.

"Good morning, Mr Jones!" she welcomed him softly. "I'm making a fresh pot if you want some."

FP still wasn't used to coming home to anybody. He had spent so much of the last year by himself, and the years before that he was in a haze, stumbling in to a fed up wife hours after the kids had gone to bed. Having Jughead back wasn't quite exactly like old times - he was older, more nomadic - but it was a start.

"No thank you, Betty. I'm going to sleep. Possibly forever."

The corner of her lip twitched upwards."You're going to take the bed while we're at school, right? You need to catch up on your sleep."

Having his son's girlfriend around was still an adjustment. It had only been a week, but FP's back was already complaining about that terrible pullout bed he was now sharing with his son. He felt guilty for making anybody ever sleep on that piece of junk.

FP tried to stifle a yawn, failing miserably. Betty arched an eyebrow.

"Fine. I'll take the bed," FP sighed.

Betty was sweet. She knew she had asked a lot, and she did her best to ease things. She made coffee every morning for him and Jug even though she never drank any of it herself. When FP was working crazy hours, she and Jughead would go grocery shopping and make food. Though FP suspected that Betty did most of the cooking. Either way, it's the most well-fed the Jones boys have been in a long time. As long as FP provided the funds, Betty (and perhaps Jug) would provide the food. She seemed happy to do it.

On her third day at the trailer, FP came home to homemade cookies. Betty was most definitely Alice's daughter.

"Shouldn't he be up by now?" FP asked, pointing to his son.

"You're welcome to try. Jughead is basically a Snorlax."

FP frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"

Betty smirked. "It's a Pokemon thing."

"Betty, I'm an old man," FP chastised her lightly as he crossed the room to the foot of the pullout bed. "You've got to speak in terms I can understand."

Betty giggled, which turned into full laughter when FP reached under Jughead's blankets, grabbed his ankles, and pulled him off the bed.

"What the hell, Dad?"

Betty was doubled over, trying to catch her breath. It was nice to see her laugh like that. The girl was way to serious all the time.

FP pointed at his son. "You, get ready, eat, go to school. I'm going to sleep until next Tuesday."

And with that, FP went into the bedroom, took off his ridiculous uniform and passed the fuck out in his boxers.

He didn't notice that Betty had left the blinds drawn until hours later when the sun came peaking through.

Fuck.

He buried his head in his pillow, trying to block it out. But it was too late. He was awake. FP dropped the pillow to the side in defeat. He caught a glimpse of the clock on the night stand.

12:32.

It was 12:32.

How the fuck was it  _only_ 12:32?

He fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. What the fuck was he going to do at 12:32 - now 12:33- in the afternoon?

To be fair, he did sleep for almost 6 hours which was an accomplishment for him. He never slept, averaging maybe 4 hours since he stopped drinking. When he was drinking, all he did was sleep. But alcohol induced sleeps weren't particularly restful by any means.

FP dillydallied for a bit. He ate some leftovers Betty had set aside for him with a pink sticky note with FP scrawled across it. He took a long shower to try to get rid of the smell of french fries. He washed dishes. He even deep cleaned the bathroom.

After all that, two hour had barely gone by.

So FP cleaned the inside of his truck. He tossed out the garbage he had been keeping in there and vacuumed the carpets of the sand they had collected over the winter months.

When it was all over, FP felt rather accomplished. He had done more around the trailer today than he hadin a long while. The perfect way to continue his afternoon would be to kick his feet up and crack open a cold one.

He knew he couldn't do that.

Kicking his feet up would let his mind wander. Every mistake FP had ever made would replay in his head. The bodies he had buried would rise again and haunt him. He would think about Jellybean and how he has missed so much and how he had somehow become and absentee father. He would remember how Jughead forgave him, but he would find himself wondering what the catch was. When was the other shoe going to drop?

When FP got bored, his mind wandered.When his mind wandered, he got lonely. When he was lonely, his heart got thirsty.

One beer could easily turn into six.

But  _man,_  he could really use that one beer.

He pulled his ID from his wallet and slipped it in his back pocket. He tossed the rest of his wallet inside the trailer before locking up and hopping into his freshly cleaned truck.

FP didn't really have a destination in mind. He just knew that if he was driving and had no money, he wouldn't be able to drink no matter how much he was craving it.

He circled around the Southside a few times with his windows down, music blaring through his speakers. He came across some of the younger Serpents hanging out by the tracks, so he yelled at them to stay in school because he was trying his damnedest to be a good adult figure. Who knows if they even listened? At least FP tried.

Eventually, he found himself in the Coopers' neighbourhood, the very one from which Alice had warned him away just a few months prior. He didn't plan on ending up there; Riverdale was just too damn small. There were only so many streets he could cruise through without looking like a predator.

Alice's station wagon was parked in the driveway and FP was a little surprised the she was actually home in the middle of the day. It seemed that other than him, everybody else in town was off being a productive member of society. Could she be working from home? Or spending as much time with this mysterious Chic character as possible? Either way, it would be nice to have speak to an adult today, even if that adult is the furious mother of his son's girlfriend.

He rang the doorbell and waited for her quick footsteps to come down the stairs.

The door flung open revealing Alice Cooper with her perfectly done makeup and her perfectly curled hair falling on her shoulders in a way that must have taken longer than she would be willing to admit. Her put-together appearance didn't fool FP. There was fear behind the mask she wore so carefully.

"What happened? Why are you here?" she demanded. "Are the kids okay?"

"Alice, they're fine," he reassured her. Alice's eyes narrowed and he knew he was walking on thin ice. "I wanted to see if you wanted to go for a walk."

The door slamming in his face let him know that he had said the wrong thing.

He tried the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. "Alice?" he called tentatively, closing the door gently behind him. She was in the living room pacing, on the brink of hysterics.

"Don't you do that to me ever again!" Alice marched back up to him, pointing an accusatory finger at him."I thought something horrible had happened! FP, you can't just show up here and  _invite me for a walk_ , especially not with everything that's been happening in this town!"

He didn't know what to do other than let her yell at him. Tears flowed freely, leaving a faint trail of mascara on her delicate skin.

"You can't just show up here unannounced, FP!" she gulped, trying to calm her erratic breathing."I thought Betty... I though Betty was -"

He didn't make her say her fears aloud and pulled her into his arms. "Shhh Alice... Betty is fine. She's safe. So is Jughead. They're both fine. They're in school. They're okay."

She buried her face into his chest. "Don't scare me like that."

"I'm sorry, Alice. I'm really sorry.I didn't think it through, I'm sorry," he soothed her, running a hand up and down her back with each apology.

Her breathing slowly evened out. "You scared me, FP," she said as she untangled herself from his embrace.

"I know. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Alice wiped the her eyes with her index finger, trying to salvage the little bit of makeup that wasn't totally smudged.

FP fully expected the Stepford Smiler to return, but this time, she didn't plaster on a tight smile and spit a venomous remark at him. Instead, she sighed, and awkwardly waved him to take a seat on the couch. Instead of crossing her ankles like a lady, she brought her knees to her chest and wrapped a crocheted blanket around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry for freaking out. Betty hasn't called me since she left. I only get the occasional vague text message," Alice admitted softly.

FP carefully took a seat at the other end. The energy between them was fragile and he was not used to these fleeting moments of intimacy. She could accept his company, or she could throw him out. It could go either way really. Something had shifted in the last few weeks (ever since he had buried yet another body) and now that it was coming from her, FP did not know what todo.

Instead of swapping insults like they had for the last 25 years, he placed a hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. And she, remarkably, did not pull away for the second time that month.

"Don't you work today? Or are you playing hooky?" she raised an eyebrow.

_There she is,_ he grinned. "I'll have you know that I have not been fired, and I do in fact work today. From 10 until 6."

Alice grimaced."That's a terrible shift."

"Tell me about it," he sighed and let himself finally relax against the backrest, his fingers still tangled in hers. "And don't worry, I gave Jughead and Betty strict instructions to be home by 9. Lucky for us, Old ManTopaz is an insomniac and will keep an eye out in the night. "

Alice blinked. "You have a contingency plan."

"Of course I do. You don't get to be a gang leader without having  _some_ planning and organizational skills."

"I forget that there is more to being a Serpent King than being drunk all the time."

Ouch.

He kind of walked into that one.

She was angry and she was hurt and was lashing out at him. Alice Cooper knew exactly where to hit him where it hurt.

Normally he would bite back, but today he was trying him damnedest to be a responsible adult and he was on a roll. No reaching for the bottle, no saying things that he will regret.

"Look, Alice, I'm not a fan of this arrangement either," he cut right to the chase.Was that relief that briefly crossed her features? "I'm sleeping on the pullout couch with my son so his girlfriend can have the bed."

"You're doing that?"

FP doesn't understand why she was so shocked. Of course he would give Betty the bed, and there was no way in hell that Jughead and Betty would be sharing it. "I also told them that I put up security cameras, so no hanky-panky."

Alice face scrunched up in disgust. "I don't want to think about them and  _hanky-panky_.."

"They're smarter than we were at their age."

"Ain't that the truth."

And maybe he shouldn't have said anything, maybe he shouldn't have brought up the ghosts of their past. For a moment, she looked haunted. She dropped his hand, her mask was back on, the moment was gone and they were moving on.

Alice reached over and grabbed the remote from the coffee table. "Want to watch a movie?"

Movies meant company without the intimacy. Sitting together in silence, maybe occasionally yelling a frustrated comment at the tv. He knew what she was doing.

"You mean Netflix and chill?" he teased.

Alice's jaw dropped.

"What? Isn't that what the kids are saying these days?" FP frowned. "Did I not use it right?"

All she did was laugh - the full-bodied, double-over kind of laugh. The kind that would have sprayed milkshake out of her nose had she been drinking one. It was the most beautiful sound in the universe. FP figured she probably hadn't laughed like that since she crossed the tracks and plastered that perfect frozen mask on her face.

"What's so funny?" he kept a straight face because it would be funnier that way.

"Fp...it means," she took a few breaths, trying to catch her breath. "it means sex."

Oh.Well he didn't actually know that, but it was so much more fun to mess with her. "So I did use it right."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "In your dreams."

"That was a weak comeback, Alice, and you know it," he smirked.

She scrolled through the movie selections, rolling her eyes at his interjections- no corny chick flicks, no subtitles, no musicals.

"As long as gratuitous blood splatter is out too," she demanded. FP recoiled a bit. Did she always hate dumb violent movies? Or was this a recent development? It probably shouldn't bother him that he did not know.

Eventually, they come to an agreement. By then, he was nice and comfortable on his side of the couch. His boots were placed neatly on the side of the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table.

He was surprised she let him.

They didn't make it through the entire movie. About 20 minutes in, the sleep that had refused to come earlier in the day finally caught up with both of them. His arm propped on the armrest under his chin, while Alice's feet some how inched towards his lap. Her own head rested on a pile of decorative pillows.

The sound of the front door slamming jerked FP awake and he almost knocked Alice off his lap. Chic came barrelling in.

"I had a burger at Pop's. Don't worry about me tonight," he called as he raced up the stairs.

Alice wiped the sleep from her eyes."It's dark out. What time is it?"

"Shit. It's 7, " FP pushed her feet and grabbed his boots. "I need to go. The kids..." FP fumbled for his keys. "This was... nice."

"Remember to call ahead next time,"she said pointedly. "We'll go for that walk.

He just waved and let himself out.

* * *

 

FP took a breath before entering the onslaught that awaiting him at the trailer.

"Where have you been?" exclaimed his son as FP pushed the door open.

"I'm sorry, Jug. I lost track of time." He hated this thing they did where Jughead played the concerned adult. That was not his job, and yet here they were again.

"You could have left a note! I checked in everywhere and nobody seemed to know where you were!"

Betty placed a gentle hand on her boyfriend's arm. "Jug... I know you were worried, but he's back now. With plenty of time to spare before his shift."

Jughead sighed, the anger seemingly dissipating and being replaced by defeat. "Dad, you really need to get a cell phone. I can't keep doing this."

Normally FP would protest the idea. Up until this point, he hadn't seen a need for a cell phone. He had his landline, anybody who needed knew where to find him. He didn't need those big corporations knowing all of his business - legal and illegal. He preferred to go through a series of burner phones to doSerpent business. It was harder for Sheriff Keller to trace back to him.

All of his reasoning went out the window when his son looked at him with those eyes of a boy who was forced to grow up before his time.

"Fine," he conceded. Jughead andBetty shared an ecstatic look. "But it will be for emergencies only."

"We can go shopping on your next day off," Betty offered with glee.

"Nothing complicated," FP emphasized as he headed to his room to get changed and he heard the two teens high-five behind him.

 


	2. Chapter 2

The the next time FP Jones knocked on her door, Alice was prepared. True to his word, a few days later he had called ahead, complaining of boredom and insomnia on his day off. He must have asked Betty for her number or looked her up in the yellow pages because it was the first time they had spoken on the phone in decades.

On the outside, she was still a suburbanite wrapped in her athleisure wear. Alice donned her black leggings and long sleeve shirt, with a purple vest that tied it all together. She had a matching headband keeping her bangs out of her face, and the rest was carefully tied up in a tight ponytail. For a moment she considered strapping her ankle weights on, but she could just imagine FP's exasperated eye-roll. She didn't need to provide him with more ammunition against her. But god damn it, she was comfortable.

He didn't need to know about her white snakeskin print sports bra, and she doubted that he would notice the snake charm bracelet wrapped around her wrist.

FP still raised an eyebrow when he saw her. “I feel underdressed.”

“How do you mean?”

“You look like you're about to go to a Zumba class. I look like a lumberjack,” he waved to the blue flannel he wore.

“FP, I'm not going to tell you you look fine because you're clearly fishing for compliments.”

“Damn, you caught me.”

Alice would never have thought that FP Jones of all people would be her new walking partner a year ago, let alone _six weeks_ ago. She couldn't quite pinpoint when things between them had shifted. When had they gone from thinly veiled threats to willingly spending time together? Was there a catalyst? Or was it a slow reaction spanning years, eroding the walls they had erected around their hearts?

This was all new. But at the same time, it wasn't. It was comfortable. It was as if no time had passed, and their lives hadn't veered away at the tracks those many years ago.

When they arrived at the trail by Sweetwater River, she walked alongside FP in silence, listening to the water rush by and the birds sing. Normally she would worry about what would happen if they were to to be seen. She had always cared what other people thought of her, possibly more than she should. It was exhausting.

Today, Alice embraced it. She allowed herself to be in the moment. She had been cooped up in her horrible house waiting for her daughters for much too long.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a yelp come from the man beside her. His feet flew from under him and his arms flailed as he tried to regain his balance. He reached for her arm to steady himself, and miraculously, he somehow managed to catch himself.

She couldn't help but laugh and he soon joined her, his hand still place in the crook of her elbow.

“Careful there,” Alice warned belatedly and FP rolled his eyes.

“A bit late for that advice,” he remarked.

FP let go of her and suddenly her arm felt cold.

They finished their walk and returned to her house. They stood facing one another on her doorstep. It was time for him to leave. Anything more than just a walk would be crossing into dangerous territory.

But Alice didn't want him to leave just yet.

“Have you eaten yet?” she offered quickly.

There was something that flickered in FP's eyes. Was that _hope_?

“Not yet,” he admitted with a shrug. “What do you have in mind?”

She opened her door and ushered him in. “Let's see what I have, and we can cook something up.”

FP watched with his elbows on the counter as Alice rifled through her fridge. She pulled out an assortment of vegetables and leafy greens and began washing them.

“I can't remember the last time I had a salad,” he watched her in awe.

“Are you being serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

Alice looked at him horrified at what she was hearing. “What do you and Jughead eat?”

“Pop's, grilled cheese, pasta, ramen,” he listed and tilted his head to the side. “And anything that can be cooked in the microwave.”

“It's a wonder you two manage to stay so skinny.”

Alice spun the lettuce and placed it in a bowl. “I'm craving chocolate...” she said suddenly. “If I made brownies, would you help me eat them, FP?”

“You've always made the best brownies,” FP smirked. “Special and not-so-special.”

Alice rolled her eyes and sent him to grab the ingredients from the cupboard. In between chopping vegetable for the salad, Alice barked out instructions, told him how much to measure, what to pour in. FP followed without complaint. She wondered if her brownies would join the other four things in his repertoire.

“No eating the batter!” she exclaimed as he reached into the bowl with his pinky.

“It's just so tempting!” he complained as he licked it off hungrily. “Do we really have to wait for it to bake?”

Alice's biggest flaw was that she always acted before thinking about the consequences. When she was seven-years old, she wanted to see how far she could jump from a swing and broke she leg. When she was sixteen, she was lonely and horny so she had sex with FP in the back of his dad's truck and she ended up pregnant.

Whenever she tried to plan ahead, it tended to blow up spectacularly in her face. She only ever wanted three things in life: to get out of the Southside, to be secure, and for her kids to have it better than she did.

Now here she was moving further away from 40 and closer to 50 and her life was falling apart. She kicked her husband out twice in the last year. Both her daughters chose to live elsewhere because she drove them away. Meanwhile, her long-lost illegitimate son was a recovering addict and was holed up in his room possibly making porn. (She would rather not know).

And FP was standing barely a foot away from her with a streak of leftover chocolate in the corner of his mouth. Alice's hand moved on its own accord, her thumb reaching to wipe the chocolate and the smirk off his face. Something in his eyes changed and her stomach fluttered again.

“You had some on your face,” her voice was breathier than she intended. It was really quite astounding that he didn't pull away, didn't gawk at the sentimentality of it all.

Instead FP caught her hand in his. “It would be a shame for it to go to waste.”

One look in his dark eyes and the words get caught in the lump in her throat that seemed to form whenever he stood just a little too close. He turned her hand over and gently stroked the lines on her palm.

And she _knew_ that it would be in her nature to pull back. She had in the past whenever they had come to a moment like this. But she didn't pull away. He stared down at her, drinking her in and for once she couldn't read his expression.

He brought her thumb to his lips and gently licked the chocolate stain.

“Delicious,” he said as he let her go.

Alice let out a shuddering breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

She doesn't know what caused her do what she did next; it must have been temporary insanity. She stuck a finger in her batter and stroked her neck. “Oops.”

It was a challenge that he met. FP lifted her chin, and Alice's eyes fluttered shut as she felt his lips glide over her pulse-point.

She lifted a hand and caught his fingers between hers, the other gripping the edge of her counter. All rational thought ceased to exist ages ago and she knew that she needs to keep him there. Just for a little while. Just until this debilitating feeling passed and her legs were no longer weak and feeling like jelly.

As if he understood everything she wanted and couldn't say, FP left a trail of kisses towards her chin, and then he gently kissed the corner of her mouth.

They should have left it at that. Enough lines had been crossed. She mentally listed why this was so wrong when it felt so right. They were both still married to other people, their kids were dating, and their son that he didn't know about was upstairs.

Instead, she opened her eyes. She opened her eyes and gently traced his lip with her thumb, smiling as he let out a shaky breath. In this temporary insanity, she parted her lips slightly, and lets her tongue dart out and lick the bottom.

Her madness must have been catching because he kissed her, really kissed her against her marble countertop, with his eyes closed and one leg pressed between hers.

At first, Alice yelped in surprise and let her hand drop. Her heartbeat hammered in her ears, and her stomach was doing somersaults. She had no idea what to do with her hands, but she knew she needed to keep him there kissing her. When she felt FP pull away, she grabbed him by the lapel of his flannel with one hand keeping him pressed up against her.

Alice's hands were everywhere, running up and down his front, under his flannel, but over the white shirt he wore underneath.

She whimpered at the loss of contact when his lips left hers, but then his lips nipped at her earlobe, and sucked their way down her neck -

“Oh god,” she gasped and immediately clasped a hand over her mouth, horrified at the words that betrayed her lust.

But FP didn't stop. Rather, he seemed to be spurred on by it. He sucked on that spot again and swirled his tongue, and she bit down on the palm of her hand to keep from moaning. At some point, her other hand got tangled in his hair in a desperate effort to keep him close.

FP continued moving down until his lips met her collarbone and she was so thankful she had the foresight to take off her puffy vest when they started cooking. Every part of Alice's body was on fire; it was astounding to her how ready she was for him, how much she needed to feel him.

Alice let a hand slither under his shirt and snaked it around to his back, running her brightly painted nails run up and down. FP groaned at her touch and somehow, that set her off even more. His lips were back on hers, his tongue dancing with hers again.

It was the vibrating of a cell phone in between their legs that broke the spell. FP took a step back and blinked. His hair was disheveled, his shirt was all over the place. Alice briefly wondered if she fared any better.

He reached into his front pocket and pulled out a vibrating phone. When had he even gotten a phone? “It's Jughead.”

“You should probably get that,” she said as she turned away from him. Her legs were finally able to move on their own again. She found a container and started filling it with the salad she had made as FP spoke to his son.

“I've got to pick Jughead up from school,” he sighed. Alice looked up in alarm. “My delinquent son decided to break the dress code.”

“Are his shoulders distracting to the other boys?”

FP merely shrugged and Alice was just a tad disappointed that his wit refused to make an appearance.

“Here you go,” she handed him the containers. “You're son is waiting.”

He nodded and headed out towards the door. “Thanks, Alice. This was fun.”

She pursed her lips. Normally she would be armed with a witty retort, but then Alice made the mistake of looking into his kind eyes and her words got caught. “Yeah, it was.”

If they had been somewhere else, anywhere that wasn't right there and then, or if his arms weren't full of food containers, maybe he would have been able to reach for her and give her hand a gentle squeeze. Perhaps she would have lifted herself on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

But they were there and then and FP was returning to his life and Alice remembering what it was like to breathe again.

 


End file.
